It's No Secret
by Heart Like Memphis
Summary: 'Brooke was his best friend, Lucas needed to support her instead of feeling the way that he was. Julian made Brooke happy, he was able to give her what Lucas never could.' Brucas


_And it's no secret I know everybody knows  
I need you, I need you  
It's no secret I'm afraid to be alone_

Physically and mentally he felt sick. Lucas Scott couldn't remember the last time he had felt good. Weeks seemed like a decent guess. He had been getting strange chest pains lately. To make matters worse Julian had proposed to Brooke. She said yes.

Lucas knew that feeling jealous was inappropriate. He had no reason to feel this way. Being with Brooke had been an option for years. He just needed to let her all the way in and she'd be his. He couldn't accomplish this task.

Being able to show all of his true feelings had always been impossible with Brooke. It was strange considering for the longest time he had been the only guy that she had ever truly loved. She always tried her hardest during their relationships, Lucas hated that he couldn't give her what she wanted.

Brooke was his best friend, Lucas needed to support her instead of feeling the way that he was. Julian made Brooke happy, he was able to give her what Lucas never could. Luke needed to accept that. Not only did he need to accept it but he also needed to focus on his health.

At first Lucas thought that he was getting a cold. His body felt weak, he felt nauseous and dizzy. They were normal symptoms but whenever the chest pains started he felt nervous. Chest pains would always be something to worry about but when you have HCM like Lucas, suddenly the worrying becomes way more intense.

Today the chest pains were worse. They were almost unbearable. A frightened Lucas didn't know what to do. He was taking his medicine, keeping up with his regular routine, he didn't know what he had done wrong to make himself feel so ill.

Lucas was scared that his heart was going to beat out of his chest but then suddenly it changed. His breathed short breathes that he could barely get out. He wandered from his bedroom to the kitchen. He needed to find his medicine, he had a certain drug that the doctors has prescribed for him that he was only to use on emergencies. This was classified as an emergency in his opinion.

Lucas held onto the counter with one hand, he used it to help keep his body steady. He used the other hand to dig through the medicine cupboard. He flung useless bottles of pills to the side. Where were the pills that he needed?

His cellphone was on the counter. Lucas picked up the iPhone. His shakey hands were barely able to send a text message to Brooke.

_Help me._

The pills. They were on the very top shelf. Lucas grabbed them. He then poured himself a glass of water. Everything was spinning. The glass of water fell to the floor smashing into a million pieces. The bottle of pills also fell. Lucas laid on the floor beside them, unconscious.

"And as you can see we're going to take Clothes Over Bros to a new level this year. We've got big ideas and we're ready to change in a big way. I hope that everyone is as excited about it as I am." Brooke was standing in front of a projected image of her clothing label as she spoke to a panel of designers. The designers began to clap. Victoria gave Brooke an approving nod with a small smile. The meeting was a success so far.

Brooke's phone went off during the question part of the meeting. "One second.." Brooke flashed a cute but apologetic smile before checking her phone. She read the words, 'Help me.' They were from Lucas. Brooke knew that Lucas had been feeling sick lately. She also was well aware of his heart condition. The young man wouldn't normally send her a text message like this, she knew that it wouldn't be a joke.

She needed to go see if he was alright.

"I'm really sorry but I need to leave." Brooke shoved her phone back into her designer handbag.

Victoria looked unamused, "I'm sure that whatever it is can wait, Brooke, this is important. Stay."

Brooke looked at her mother and then at the other designers there. She shook her head and quickly exited the room before her mother could stop her.

Leaving the building Brooke rushed to her car. Once inside she revved up the engine and sped off towards Lucas's house. She hoped that she wasn't too late.

Brooke ran up to his front door. Not even stopping to knock she bursted through. "Lucas?" Brooke called out, "Luke?" she repeated while looking through the house for her friend. When she found him her heart dropped. She gasped. "Lucas!" Brooke exclaimed, dropping to the floor beside him. She turned him over onto his back, the upper part of his chest was partially wet and there was a small cut on his face from landing on the broken glass. She tried to shake him, "Luke! Wake up!" Nothing.

She leaned closer to his face, that was when she grabbed her phone, he wasn't breathing. Brooke dialed 911 and explained the details of the situation. She gave them his address and demanded that they get here as fast as they could. Chucking her phone aside once the call was made Brooke did what anyone might do in this situation; she tried to give him mouth to mouth.

The girl could barely remember health classes. Right now she was wishing that she paid attention more. Brooke tilted his head back slightly, opened his mouth, pinched his nose and then covered his mouth with hers breathing into him. Still nothing.

Brooke had never been so thrilled to see an ambulance arrive. "Please! You've got to help him. He has HCM, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy!" She wanted to cry. The medics attached Lucas to a stretcher and put him on the ambulance. They immediately began to try different ways to get his breathing to start up again. Brooke wanted to go with them in the vehicle but she wasn't allowed. The ambulance was full. There were too many medics in there.

Since she couldn't go with them Brooke followed them back to the hospital in her own car. Through out the whole drive to the hospital Brooke was scared that the doctors in the ambulance wouldn't be able to do anything for Lucas.

Arriving at the hospital made her feel the tiniest better but it was also a hassle. She got separated from Lucas and the ambulance. She was stuck in the guest parking lot. She had to pay the worker so that she could keep her car there. She then entered the hospital. "Where is Lucas Scott?" Brooke demanded the information from the woman working at the front desk.

"Lucas Scott has been taken in for surgery."

"Oh my god.." Brooke stated quietly, "Is he going to be okay? When will I be able to see him?" With each word Brooke spoke faster, her voice cracked at the end of it.

The woman looked at Brooke with an understanding look, "Young lady, I'm sure that he'll be fine. Go down the hall and take a left, there's a waiting room down there. Good luck."

Brooke nodded and rushed off in the direction that the woman had told her about. She wiped at a few stray tears while doing so.

As she made her way to the waiting room Brooke stumbled upon a window that overlooked the surgery room. She couldn't stay to watch. She could hardly look down at him. Watching medical shows was hard enough for Brooke, seeing her best friend in this situation.. it was too much.

Hours had passed. Lucas was in the recovery room. Brooke was given permission to enter. She was silent as she walked inside. Lucas was in his bed sleeping. There was a vacant chair beside him. Brooke sighed softly as she slumped into the chair. He looked so peaceful. She watched his chest slowly move up and down at a comfortable pace.

Brooke checked her phone, it had been turned off ever since the 911 call. She had 13 missed calls. The majority were from Victoria but a good amount were from Julian also. She didn't call either of them back. Instead she put her phone away once again.

Lucas felt groggy. The amount of time he had spent in this hospital bed was a mystery to him. When he finally woke up his eyes found a sleeping Brooke Davis. She came. His text message must've worked. He didn't want to wake her but his mouth was dry. He also wanted to know what happened. "Pretty girl.." He said softly.

It was barely a whisper but at the sound of that name Brooke's eyes opened. "Lucas, you're awake! I've been so worried about you!" she exclaimed trying to keep her voice quiet but failed slightly.

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

A nurse had realized that their patient was finally awake. She walked in with a glass of water and a plastic medicine cup that had a few different pills in it. Before Brooke could answer the nurse replied, "You had a heart attack."

Lucas looked at the woman in shock, "What..? How? I've been taking my medicine.."

The woman gave him the glass of water and the medicine, "Your medicine was expired. Your girlfriend brought it in with her and we examined it. She also explained that lately you were feeling like you were getting a cold, that's why. Instead of helping your heart the medicine was making you even more sick."

"But he's going to be okay now, right?" Brooke asked, looking up at the nurse.

"Yes, everything should be fine. We've got a new prescription for him to take. We want him to stay here for a few more days so that we can monitor him but once he's free to go it's still recommended that someone looks after him for a while. We don't want this to happen again."

"I'll look after him."

"Good, I assumed that you would."

The nurse left Brooke and Lucas alone. She told them that if he needed anything that she'd be right outside the hall.

Lucas looked over at Brooke, "You know, you really don't have to do this."

"I want to."

"But I can get Hales, I'm sure that Jamie would love to play doctor for a while." Lucas pressed on, "You're going to be busy with the new clothing line, your life in general.. wedding plans.."

Brooke gently held his hand, "Lucas, I'm going to do this whether you like it of not. You need someone right now, that someone is me. I can work from your house, it's really no problem at all."

"What about Julian?" Lucas knew that he had to ask. They both knew that Julian wouldn't approve of Brooke staying with and taking care of her ex boyfriend.

"He'll just have to get over it. Right now, you're more important."

There was a brief silence.

Brooke rubbed his hand with her thumb, "You need to get some rest."

"Thank you."

Brooke let go of his hand and stood up, "You're welcome.. now go back to sleep. I'm going to go get some supper."

Lucas looked up at her, "Brooke.. I love you.."

Brooke didn't feel alarmed. She knew that it wasn't the drugs talking. Leaning down towards him she placed a kiss on his forehead, "I know." She touched his cheek, "I love you too."

Without saying anything more Brooke turned on her heel and left the room. While walking through the hallway her phone went off. Brooke stopped to pull it out of her purse. A picture of Julian was on the screen. Brooke stared at it for a moment. Clicking ignore she walked on. She didn't want to talk to him. He was her fiance. She had made a mistake in letting him become that.


End file.
